Is Katie Holmes’ style overshadowing her career?

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Katie Holmes has become a reluctant fashion icon and a fashion punching bag recently. Critics praise her latest coif -- ‘so Jean Seberg!’-- in one breath and hit her with an uppercut in the next one. When Holmes strolled around New York in the same pair of baggy, boyfriend jeans, right, last week, blogs such as Evil Beet Gossip launched ‘Katie Holmes Jeans Watch.’ Even this blogger threw her thoughts in the ring with a post about Holmes’ fickle taste in denim. (She dumped the boyfriend jeans for a pair of high-waisted denim trousers -- holy cow!)

The other night, Holmes showed up to the ‘Tropic Thunder’ premiere in a chic navy dress, left, that she co-designed with her longtime stylist, Jeanne Yang. The frock was unique and well-designed in a forward thinking ‘Project Runway’ way, unlike a lot of the sartorial drivel with celeb labels that we’re seeing lately. Her pixie cut also made her look fresh and ... wait, does anyone even care anymore that Holmes is an actress?

Come September, Holmes hits Broadway in ‘All My Sons.’ It’s the very reason that she is in New York and is being spotted sauntering the streets. Every day, on WireImage, there are candid shots of the actress posted. And honestly, this kid can’t get a break when it comes to wardrobe. I suspect that she may have worn the same pair of jeans repeatedly to deflect attention from her style. But the plan backfired, and fashion bloggers pounced like jackals. So then, she appeared in a simple, long Ann Taylor-esque dress -- more suited to a surburban Mom than a movie star -- and still, the critiques followed.

But all this attention to her style has dwarfed the interest in her career, which is a shame. A quick peek at IMDB.com shows that she has no follow-up projects to ‘Mad Money.’ (And I know that she has been making the rounds to studios to do meet-and-greets with senior execs.) I fell for Holmes when I first spotted her in ‘The Ice Storm’ in 1997 and two years later, she practically stole the great movie ‘Go,’ above, from the equally awesome Sarah Polley.

Maybe it’s time for Holmes to step away from the mirror so that she can devote more time to future projects. I would hate for her to become the next Victoria Beckham, ever striking a pose.